New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D, may be spending much of the new year explaining how he was caught off-guard by a $6.1 billion hole looming in his next state budget, caused mostly by rising Medicaid costs.
It’s the largest gap since Cuomo took office. Amid New York’s recovery from recession, he ordered $10 billion in cuts to health care, education and personnel for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. This shortfall, disclosed in a report last month, occurred during a strong economy as revenue increased. Critics say the third-term governor should have known better.
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